Naruto looked at the one-armed elder with untrusting eyes.

"Is that so? Exactly what do we have to talk about?" Naruto asked.

"I would prefer not to speak in front of the traitor." Danzō said. Ino glared at the man and it also did not sit well with Naruto.

"Then we have nothing to discuss. Come on Ino." Naruto said. The two walked pass him and made a few steps before Danzō spoke again.

"Do you believe that you can trust her?" The two teens stopped and faced him. "She allows her emotions to rule her decisions. She cannot be trusted and it would be in your best interest to separate yourself from her." Ino took a step to say something but was stopped by Naruto.

"What you call a mistrust, I call being human. Perhaps you should try it some time. Ino might be the Leaf's biggest mouth," Ino turned to give him a glare. "but I trust her more than I trust you. We will be going now. Tell Sai hello for me." With that, Naruto led Ino away. Danzō was not affected by the words. He just walked away in the different direction.

XXX

Naruto sat with Ino at a Barbeque shop. The two were alone, waiting for the food to arrive.

"The Leaf's biggest mouth? Is that what you really called me?" Ino asked hotly.

"Don't be mad at me just because it's the truth." Naruto said with a smirk. Ino scoffed before getting a little serious.

"So, is it true about Sakura?" Ino asked. Naruto's mood changed too.

"Yeah, it's the truth. She's on a mission to get even with everyone and I'm number one on the list." Naruto said.

"Has she really gone off the deep end? What does she hope to achieve, especially against the Akatsuki and Orochimaru?" Ino asked.

"I don't know and I don't want to know. All we need to be is ready." Naruto said. The two were silent for a while before Naruto spoke again. "So, making friends since I've been gone?" Ino looked at him before scoffing.

"You going to lecture me too?" She asked.

"Please Ino, this is me. I've done a lot worst as a kid than you have as a teen." Naruto stated. Ino nodded at that.

"Look, I know that I did something stupid," Naruto snorted. "but I know that I did the right thing. Tayuya has been a great asset to the village. Also, she's an even better friend. I don't really have many anymore." Ino explained.

"Among your clan or us?" Naruto asked.

"You know about that too? Well, I'm not too concerned about my clan. If they would rather care about their image rather than their members, I say forget them." Ino said with a high and mighty tone. Naruto looked at her and could see right through her bravado. He did not question it or push the issue.

"Whatever you have to say to make yourself feel better." Naruto said, earning him a glare. "Either way, I think you and I need to set some ground rules. If you think I'm going to just accept you invading my space, you're as crazy as Tayuya says."

"You can say whatever you want. It doesn't mean I'm going to listen." Ino said with a smirk.

"Still a bitch huh?" Naruto commented. Ino kicked him in the shin under the table. The two glared at each other. That's when Shikamaru, Choji and Tayuya entered and the food arrived. Tayuya looked at the two.

"What's up with you two?" Tayuya asked. She then looked at Ino. "Are you being a bitch again?" Ino turned her glare to her while Naruto smirked.

"Excuse me but aren't you my friend?" Ino demanded.

"While we are new teammates, we have bonded on the fact that you are annoying. Just like how me, chubs and the brain bonded. Face it, you annoy people. I'm just real enough to say it to your face." Tayuya stated plainly.

"Screw you. Screw you all." Ino stated with annoyance. Everyone had a good laugh and started to eat.

XXX

Tsunade was going through the text in the old Senju compound. She was looking for anything with that symbol. Tsunade knew all about the Jashin religion. In her younger years, her team faced one of them. It was a very tough battle that almost ended with her death. Since then, she had a healthy fear of that religion. To know that there was one still alive, it needs to be dealt with.

"Hey hime," a voice greeted. "I heard my student brought some bad news to you." Tsunade turned to face Jiraiya.

"Yeah. Apparently, a Jashinist is a part of the Akatsuki." Tsunade said.

"Those guys." Jiraiya muttered. He also remembered the encounter with them. "I thought they were all wiped out during the truce in the middle of the Third World Ninja War?"

"They were. My guess, someone must have found a temple. I got word back from the daimyo of the Hot Water Country. Because of the direction they were taking, Hidan killed several of their neighbors before he was forced to flee. If he had that tome with him, he must have found a temple's location. Ah, here we go." Tsunade said, pulling out a text. Jiraiya noticed that text.

"It's a good thing that we gathered some information on the cult. Are you going to hand it out to our allies as well as our teams?" he asked.

"Yes, especially to the Twenty Legions. I will not send them unprepared to fight someone like Hidan. Hopefully this will help." She said. With a nod, the two made their way to the Hokage tower.

XXX

Naruto was throwing punches and kicks at the post. He was gathering chakra around his body before unleashing a fierce whirlwind with an uppercut. It shredded the post into pieces. Naruto waited for the jutsu to die down before looking at the damage.

"Huh, it still isn't strong. It certainly won't match up with that Black Tornado jutsu." Naruto muttered to himself.

"Not many jutsu would stand up to the Black Tornado. It is still and impressive start." Naruto turned and saw Danzō. He narrowed his eyes at the man.

"And how do you know anything about the Black Tornado?" Naruto demanded.

"I believe that we should have that talk now." Danzō said, ignoring his question. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"I thought we had nothing to discuss?" Naruto asked evenly.

"You said so, I did not. Unlike Tsunade, Kakashi and others, I know that you will do your duty. It is why it is crucial that you deal with your former teammate." Danzō said.

"Is that my duty? What exactly are you trying to say elder?"

"You are the sword that will deal with our enemies should we need it."

"Ah, so that what I am to you? I'm Konoha's weapon to eliminate its' enemies? Or rather, who you believe is an enemy?"

"In this world, everyone is our enemy. Even our allies are our enemy. We must be prepared to defend ourselves and show them the error of their ways should they attempt to destroy us. You, as the village's container, certainly you can understand this."

"That's a warped way of looking at things. Granted, I know about your moniker as the 'Darkness of the Shinobi' but that's taking it just a bit too far." Naruto said.

"That is the way of the world. To ignore this is foolish and childish. Look at what happened to the Uchiha boy. He allowed his emotions to rule him and it led to his betrayal. Emotions lead to wars and bad decisions. You are guilty of the same thing but at least you knew when it had to be cut off to do your duty. Just like you have to do your duty concerning your former teammate and her cohorts. They must be eliminated." Danzō stated with a serious tone. Naruto looked at the man in front of him and could now see what Tsunade did not like him. The blond was about to set the record straight.

"Here's the thing old man. I'm no weapon. I might be in your eyes but not in the major populace. You talk about the Hidden Leaf's safety but I don't even remember hearing about any of your accomplishments. Maybe because you did it without permission. Obviously, you've been doing it now, behind Granny's back and you expect everyone to praise you for keeping them safe. The problem with that is you're doing it at the expense of others' lives and you're okay with that. I'm not and you're a bigger fool than I thought if you think that I will ever accept your way of thinking." Naruto said. He made his way out of the training ground. When he neared Danzō, he had some final words.

"Oh, by the way. The next time you attempt to use that Uchiha ability on me, we're going to have a problem. I don't know how you go it and I really don't care. Just to let you know, it won't work on me." With that Naruto left.

Danzō did not show any outward reaction to Naruto's last words but they did bother him. The boy was not the same simpleton that he remembered. It also confirmed that he and the Nine-tails were more in sync than he thought. He would have to be careful around the blond. He would also need to rethink his plans. Danzō walked off back to his lair.

XXX

Daimyo Masahiko just made his way to his quarters. He was tired from today's meetings. He was trying to find a way to improve his standing. It was at an all-time low thanks to his decisions. His worst decision was to allow Orochimaru into his lands.

He thought that by allowing him in would bring him power. Out of the Legendary Three Ninja, Orochimaru was the genius of the group. He allowed him to build himself a ninja village on the promise that he would get power. All it brought him was a headache. He lost some standing with the other daimyo because of Orochimaru's actions two and a half years ago. If he had succeed, he probably wouldn't care. There was also the fact that Orochimaru was forgetting to pay his dues. His people were angry and wanted something done. He needed to turn things around and fast.

He entered his quarters, noticing that his guards were missing. He entered the room only to see his guards' dead. The man was shocked but quickly turn to fright when the door was closed. He whirled around to see a young teenager sitting down on his chair. Standing next to her was a giant of a man.

"Hello Lord Daimyo." The female said.

"W-Who are you?" Masahiko said with fear.

"Who we are isn't really important. What is important is that we are here to help you out. I understand that you have taken a hit in your image. You really should have known better than to trust a snake like Orochimaru." She said.

"I-I have tried to correct my mistakes but I do not have the power to defy him." Masahiko said.

"Don't worry about it. With my plan, Orochimaru would be a think of the pass and you wouldn't have to do anything. Well, that's not completely true. There is one thing that you will need to do."

"What's that?" He asked. That's when he couldn't breathe. Behind him, another person was choking him with ninja wire. He scratched and clawed be he could not get free. It took a while before Masahiko stopped struggling. The teen got out of the chair and touched his pulse. With a nod, they let his body dropped next to his guards. That's when the tall man brought in two more bodies and laid them in the room. They were both wearing the symbol of the Hidden Sound. The third person wrapped the ninja wire around the ninja's hands. With everything done, the three vanished from the room.

Now outside the compound, the group was talking to each other.

"Well now, you're plan is going to put every daimyo on alert." The young woman said.

"That's what we want. Masahiko might have been unpopular but his death will ignite everyone, especially his heir. Masahiro will demand justice and he will get it. Orochimaru is going to have to deal with it." The young teen said.

"When he does, he take out several of his key people. I like this plan already." The young man said. They continued to walk away ignoring the scream coming from the compound walls.

XXX

Tsunade looked at the report with worry. Inside her office, Jiraiya, Homura and Koharu were also reading the report. She looked up from it and looked at Jiraiya.

"What do you think?" She asked him.

"This can't be Orochimaru's doing. He'd be a fool to kill a daimyo and leave such evidence. Nothing against the samurai of the Sound Country but they aren't on the level of some of our genin. This is a setup, plain and simple." Jiraiya said.

"I agree with your Jiraiya. This also creates some problems for the ninja villages. We had to recall our ninja that were stationed in the capitol." Koharu said.

"It was the best decision. With such a death, they aren't in a trusting mood. What happens from now, we had better be careful." Tsunade said. That's when there was an urgent knock on her door. "What is it?" Shizune entered and quickly handed her a piece of paper. Tsunade read it and her eyes widen in surprise. She looked at Shizune who just nodded. "Summon the Twenty Legions, NOW!"

"Ma'am!" Shizune said and was gone. Homura looked at Tsunade.

"What's going on Tsunade?" he asked.

"That Akatsuki just destroyed the Fire Temple." This surprised the three in the room. "They took monk Chiriku and the description matches that of Hidan and Kakuzu." Tsunade said. Jiraiya gave her a serious look.

"Do you think that they are ready for those two?" he asked.

"They are going to have to be." She stated

XXXXX

Authors' Notes - Well, here's a new chapter for you guys. Sorry, but I started a new job so don't expect quick updates. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.